Chapter 69
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 69
His palms stung. A few spots of blood stained the bandages, but they hadn't seeped any further.
Rickert thought about Marie. No matter how much he wrestled with the feeling, he couldn't find an answer. Was it pity? Sympathy? Guilt? Interest? Love? He simply didn't know.
Could he find the answer if he just took his time and pondered it deeply? Rickert knew nothing about love.
It brought joy and pain, happiness and misery.
It was more volatile than fire and burned far hotter. To love someone was to sear your entire heart in flames, and that was something Rickert could not comprehend.
"Chomp, chomp, chomp, chomp, chomp!"
The sound of voracious eating shattered Rickert's train of thought. He lifted his head and looked at the person sitting across from him.
He had seen Sally eat once before, but it was less like dining and more like a massacre of food.
Boribori and Delphi stared at her with blank faces, their expressions silently asking how such a person could possibly exist.
She was quite beautiful, but the sight of her stuffing her face until her cheeks puffed out like a squirrel was bizarre. It was as if she were possessed by a starving ghost. The strangest part was that despite gorging herself, she maintained a slender figure.
Sally devoured her food frantically for a while longer before gulping down a bowl of cold soup. Letting out a massive belch, she leaned back lazily in her chair.
"Buuurp! Ah, that hit the spot."
"..."
"So, where were we?"
"You were saying you became the new Guild Master," Delphi said.
Rickert tilted his head. "What about Dunkel? Is he dead?"
"Yeah, that's right. I killed that dumbass. And now I'm the Guild Master."
It was a mischievous lie, but she delivered it with such a deadpan expression that the joke fell completely flat.
It seemed they had set Sally up as a figurehead. Dunkel's identity had been exposed during the war, after all. Rickert could piece that much together without being told.
"So, is there anything for us to do?"
"Of course there is. After graduating from the Academy, everyone has to take their first request from the Guild. It's like a final exam. That's how they determine your rank. But since you two already have ranks, let's see..."
Rickert and Boribori were already High-Rank Adventurers. While they were students, it was only an equivalent rank, but now that they had graduated, it was official.
Sally pulled a deck of cards from her coat. With practiced hands, she flicked through them, selecting three in an instant.
Shoving the empty plates aside, she placed the three cards face down on the table.
"One is easy, one is hard, and the last one is dangerous. Which one do you want?"
"What's the easy one?" Rickert asked.
"I can't give you the details until you accept the request. That's why the cards are face down."
"How hard is the hard one?"
"I know how skilled you are, but this isn't about swordplay. It's manual labor. You'll have to use your body, which is why it's hard."
"And the dangerous one?"
"A slim chance of success. If you fail, it's certain death."
Rickert turned to Boribori, silently asking for his opinion.
"Let's go with the easy one," Boribori said.
"Sure."
But Sally shook her head. "Nope. You each have to pick one. You're not doing this together. You can get help from other people or clans, but since you two graduated together, you can't team up for this. It's an exam, after all."
Without a moment's hesitation, Rickert picked up the easy card, handed it to Boribori, and took the dangerous card for himself.
"Uh, wait..."
Boribori was caught off guard, but Rickert had already flipped his card over.
<Special-Grade Request: Eliminate High Vampire Armand von Bahnstein>
<Client: Count Lehman von Bahnstein>
The moment Rickert finished reading, Sally snatched the card from his hand and burned it in a candle flame. She left Boribori's card untouched; it was a simple escort mission for a merchant group.
"What's the reward?" Rickert asked calmly.
"He said he'll pay in kind, not money."
"What is it?"
"The Holy Oil of Ilya."
Rickert and Boribori looked at each other. They had just been talking about it at the Academy—the story of the hero who couldn't walk from birth until he turned thirty.
"Sounds like bullshit," Rickert said.
"Try saying that to the Count's face."
"Does something like that actually exist?"
"I don't know either."
It was hard to believe, an item straight out of a legend.
"Do I have to go alone?"
"Taking one trustworthy person should be fine. Anyway, keep this as quiet as possible. I trust you'll handle it well. But do you actually know how dangerous this is?"
"You told me to choose."
"That's true, but you're so calm about it. It's like you don't realize how serious this is. You should have just chosen the hard one."
She had warned him of a slim chance of success and certain death upon failure, but Sally hadn't expected Rickert to actually pick it.
Was it confidence born of his immense skill, or just incredible guts? He didn't seem like an arrogant kid.
"If you were going to react like this, you should have just given me the easy one," Rickert said.
"Where's the fun in that?"
"Fair enough."
In both skill and guts, Rickert was extraordinary. But then, Sally wasn't exactly a conventional person either. Unlike Dunkel, she seemed reckless—the type to do things purely for her own amusement.
In reality, Special-Grade Requests were rarely accepted by the Guild. "Special-Grade" was a classification for requests so difficult they had given up on ranking them, and they were usually left to gather dust.
Simply put, a Special-Grade Request was something considered beyond human capability.
"So, I don't have to start right away, do I?"
"Yeah. First, discuss it with your Clan Leader. Giving up is also an option. Just let me know. If you decide to go through with it, I'll provide an advance."
They belonged to a clan, after all. An adventurer's actions were decided by their clan, and the Guild couldn't simply boss them around. It was much like a feudal system. However, the first request after graduation was a special case that the Guild could assign directly. Normally, requests were delivered to the Clan Leader, who would then assign them at their discretion.
Rickert made small talk with Sally for a little longer before standing. "I'll be going."
"Congratulations."
"For what?"
"Becoming an adventurer. Just surviving the Academy is a great feat."
Sally was likely thinking of the Academy of her day, a time when violence was rampant, students took their own lives, and others were sent on deadly missions.
But the Academy was different when Sally attended, different when Rickert first entered, and different now.
Rickert smiled faintly and shook his head. "It's different now."
"Huh?"
"I'll be off. I'm sure I'll see Dunkel again someday."
Rickert left the Beringen Guild building with his friends. From there, he went to visit Molty and Lara, who had given up on becoming adventurers to start a family.
He received wonderful news: they had a baby.
To Rickert, their baby was a shock. The sight of it felt surreal, fascinating, and utterly amazing. Molty and Lara looked happy despite their meager means, and they had been fully accepted as neighbors by the local Norse settlers. The five of them sat in the cozy house, reminiscing about the past, and time flew by until evening arrived.
With nowhere else to go, Rickert, Boribori, and Delphi headed back to the Guild to stay the night.
Before leaving, Rickert quietly looked down at the baby sleeping peacefully in its cradle. He still couldn't believe it. The baby's very existence felt like a miracle.
Marie's face flashed in his mind, but he forced himself to look away.
He tried to sleep that night, but slumber eluded him. He tried to soothe his aching heart, but there was nowhere to run from it.
It will pass. It will pass.
*
The journey to Ehrenberg was uneventful. They walked at a leisurely pace, taking in the brown and gold hues of autumn.
When they arrived at the Ehrenberg branch, they were greeted by bright smiles. It had only been a few months, but in such a harsh world, reuniting safely was cause enough for joy.
"Volka, you look like a proper Branch Head now," Rickert said with a smile.
It wasn't just empty flattery; Volka had clearly put on some weight. Once you became a Branch Head, you spent far more time sitting at a desk than out in the field. Without exercise, gaining weight was only natural. His daily routine now consisted of assigning tasks and meticulously balancing the books.
"Reminds me of the Torvail Branch Head," Boribori chimed in.
Alter, the Torvail Branch Head, was the one who had given them orders while they were chasing deserters. He had always looked more like a friendly neighbor than an adventurer. Volka wasn't quite at that level yet, but his physique seemed to be heading in that direction.
"Hehehe. Honestly, it was just a headache at first. I don't know why anyone would pass up a sweet gig like this."
Showing no pride whatsoever, Volka just grinned. It was a relief to see him looking so happy.
"Ugh, if you've got nothing to do, get up and carry a keg of ale or something."
The ever-diligent Delphi rolled up her sleeves and got straight to work without even taking a moment to rest. She wiped down tables and polished the cups and utensils.
As she worked, she pointed out the children the branch had hired. They were busy fetching water or carrying laundry and didn't come over to greet them, only staring curiously from a distance.
"Let me introduce them. That's Locke, that's Remy, and that's Rona. Elga must have stepped out for a moment."
Looking closely, Rickert saw they were all around ten years old.
"Where's Benny?"
"She's still too young."
"They look pretty young, too."
"They're at least past ten."
"Where's Ice?"
"He's starting to get a belly like me," Volka said.
"What?"
"Just kidding. He's probably in my room balancing the books. Somehow, he doesn't get a belly like me even though that's all he does. Go unpack your bags first. Wife! Bring us some drinks!"
Volka shouted, looking at Delphi. Did they get married?
Only a few months had passed, but it felt like there was a lot to catch up on.
Rickert unpacked his bags in the room he shared with Boribori. On his way back out, he knocked on Volka's door. Peeking inside, he saw Ice sitting at the desk, counting coins just as Volka had said.
"Oh?"
Ice's eyes widened. It seemed that with time, he was becoming more and more expressive.
"We're back. Come on out, let's catch up."
At Rickert's invitation, Ice smiled faintly and stood up.
Although there were many other adventurers at the branch, Rickert's Clan Viola was the Core Clan. In other words, they were the de facto owners of the building—the equivalent of Ehrenberg's ruling noble house.
Once Rickert, Boribori, Volka, and Ice had settled in front of the fireplace, Delphi brought over four wooden mugs brimming with ale.
"I'm deducting this from your request rewards," she said.
"Seriously?" Boribori's eyes widened, having assumed the drinks were on the house.
Delphi merely gave a sly shrug and walked away.
"Hey, it's on me. Don't worry about it and drink up," Volka said.
"So we really do have to pay for it."
"Nothing in this world is free. Once you become a Branch Head, you have no choice but to turn into a cheapskate."
"Have many adventurers gathered here?"
"A decent number. Most are wanderers, but a few are actually decent. At this rate, I might even become a Clan Master."
A Clan Master was someone who led multiple clans under their banner. Of course, being a Clan Master didn't guarantee the subordinate clans' absolute loyalty; it all depended on the leader's personal capability.
"I feel like the more clans you lead, the bigger your belly will get."
"Hehehe, I don't care if I get fat."
He hadn't grown lazy, as he still worked hard in his own way, but Volka was genuinely content with his current life.
"By the way, didn't you guys get your 'first' request?" Ice asked, taking a sip of his drink.
"Yeah. Mine is fine, but there seems to be a problem with Ricky's. Even after giving him the request, Sally told him not to do it," Boribori said, pointing to Rickert.
At the mention of Sally's name, Volka scowled. "Is that gluttonous lady still acting as the Guild Master? Ugh, she ruins the taste of good ale."
"What's wrong?"
"That woman has no brain. Last time, she assigned overlapping work to us and another branch, and we almost ended up in a bloody sword fight. Why the hell are we dealing with this shit after winning the war? Why did Uncle Dunkel leave the job to a woman like that and go into hiding?"
"So, what is the request?" Ice asked.
"I'm not sure if I should say this, but keep it to yourselves. It's a Special-Grade Request. To kill a High Vampire."
The moment Rickert spoke, Volka froze mid-sip. He didn't even spit out his drink, letting the ale dribble down the side of his mouth. At the mention of "Special-Grade," Ice's face went completely blank, just like in the old days.